MOSCOW. May 13 (Interfax-AVN) - The security interests of Collective Security Council member countries "still require the utmost attention to the situation in and around Afghanistan," Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov stated.
He issued this statement while convening a Moscow session of the Council members' foreign and defense ministers on Monday.
"Terrorist infrastructures on Afghan territory were destroyed during military operations, but the potential for instability is still high in Afghanistan," Ivanov noted.
"We're talking about more than just the sizable resources preserved by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The tension between various Afghan political forces, which make up the interim administration, is still quite prominent," the minister explained.
As far as Russian assistance to Afghanistan's post-conflict reconstruction is concerned, Ivanov said that "our gratis humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan has amounted to nearly USD12m since December 2001, and it will soon increase by an additional USD15m."
Ivanov also commented on the situation in the Middle East. "Once again, the use of extremist methods in order to achieve political goals has put the world on the brink of conflict between religions and possibly civilizations," he said.
"An international conference on the Middle East in summer 2002 may act as a key force towards the resumption of progress towards regional peace," the minister said.